Fire and Ice
by Mirida Malfoy
Summary: Ginny discovers a dark power within her leftover from her encounter with T.M. Riddle. Who is better equipped to help her master this new talent than a certain Potions Master who has also had encounters with the Dark Lord?


Disclaimer: Now, unless you've been living on Mars for about the past decade in a cave with your fingers in you ears, then you know that I in fact did not macerate any of these lovely characters. It was JK Rowling. Blame her. And just in case I forget to put this on any following chapters, it applies throughout. Enjoy!  
  
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"There."  
  
Ginny Weasley appraised her reflection in the mirror. Her work over the past forty-five minutes in front of the vanity had definitely been well spent. Even she was impressed with the stunning girl staring back at her.  
  
"Girl" was a bit of an understatement, as Ginny had undergone a series of physical changes over the summer before this, her sixth year at Hogwarts. She had gone from the gangly, female counterpart of her brother, Percy, to a robust, somewhat curvy young woman. Though, to look at her, no one would ever know. Ginny was uncomfortable with her altered image and therefore hid her curves well beneath oversized robes handed down from Ron.  
  
The Littlest Weasley looked at her watch and sighed, realizing that it would still be another hour before Harry would meet her in the Gryffindor common room below. Her stomach gave a lurch as she attempted to repress the grin creeping across her lips as she remembered why she was even bothering to look nice this evening. Knowing that there was little else she could do to her appearance to pass the time, she allowed her mind to wander back to the events leading to this transformation.  
  
Yesterday evening had begun as yet another monotonous night for Ginny. She was sitting in her usual secluded corner of the Common Room, only half aware of its other occupants. She had been particularly enthralled in a passage on ######## she was reading for her next Potions class when she became aware of a presence beside her. She quickly glanced up and was shocked to see none other than Harry Potter standing over her. His slim, yet muscular Seeker's body sent a shadow over her work as easily as it did over her heart.  
  
"Uh, hey Ginny?" He directed his question not at Ginny, but at the paperwork in front of her.  
  
"Yes?" she managed to squeak.  
  
"Whater ya doin tomorrow?"  
  
Ginny was speechless. Never in her entire life had she been asked on a date, and she had read enough teen magazines to be relatively sure that this conversation was headed in that direction. The only guy that she had ever had any feelings for was asking her on her first date. She couldn't even begin to count how many evenings she had spent hidden under her bedcovers signing the name "Ginny Potter" all over scraps of parchment. To her it seemed reasonable: she would need to be able to sign her new name after they were married and she wanted to be sure that she was able to do it as naturally as possi.  
  
She suddenly became aware that she had been starring blankly at Harry while lost in her own thoughts. She began to panic as she realized that Harry was looking at her expectantly. Why was that? Oh! He had asked her a question! But what was it? Try as she might, she could remember what it was. Cold fear began to spread in her belly as she racked her brain for an answer to his question, whatever it had been. Looking slightly annoyed, Harry continued:  
  
"Because I was wondering if you want to go with me to Hogsmeade?"  
  
"YES!!" Ginny yelled, partly out of enthusiasm, and partly out of the relief that came from remembering what the conversation was about. Half of the Common Room, including Ron and Hermione who were cuddling on the couch, turned to see what the normally shy girl was on about. Harry, recovering from his initial shock at having her scream at him, grinned slyly.  
  
"Great. Meet me here at two tomorrow and we'll walk down together."  
  
"Okay," said Ginny, her cheeks burning as brightly as her hair. She picked up her book again and hid behind it as Harry walked away.  
  
From behind her literary fort she was free to examine Harry to her heart's desire. He strolled away and lazily made a path over to his two best friends who were embraced by the fire. He leaned close and muttered a few words with a haughty look on his face, turned on his heel, and made for the boys dormitory. Hermione and Ron exchanged surprised looks, and then began to turn to Ginny. Before they could engage her in conversation about what just transpired, she quickly gathered her things and fled to her own dormitory where she was free to burst into the giggles she had denied herself before.  
  
With a final sigh, Ginny pulled herself back into the present and glanced at her watch. Her stomach jerked; forty more minutes. This was going to be torture. Why did time have to move so skin-peelingly slow, anyway? She was ready, so the clock should be too. Admitting to herself that this was possibly the dumbest complaint she had ever had, Ginny turned back to the mirror. She really did look.  
  
Disgusting.  
  
Ginny's heart leapt as the frighteningly familiar voice tore out from deep within the shadows of her heart.  
  
Truly disgusting.  
  
She wanted to cry, knowing that she was powerless to stop any of the ugly truths that would escape to her conscious. "No, please not now. I can't do this now. I have plans. I have a."  
  
Date?  
  
"Well."  
  
Why can't you say it? Because you know as well as I do what this really is? Utterly disgusting, Ginny.  
  
That was it. Summoning all her courage she lowered her voice to it's most threatening level and almost purred: "Shut up, Tom. You don't matter. You don't even exist. This is just some bad memory that keeps piping up at the most inconvenient times. Why don't you just take a hint and sod off?"  
  
Tom? Oh, I see, you don't have the guts to admit the truth about me. about us. My, oh, my. This certainly is your evening for denial, isn't it love?  
  
"I don't want to hear this."  
  
For the last time: I'm not Tom Riddle, I'm not a shadow, and I'm not a memory. I'm you. Good, sweet, innocent, virginal Virginia Weasley has a bit of a dark side, and I'm it. Sure maybe you discovered me through you correspondence with the Dark Lord, but I was always here, and I always will be.  
  
Ginny's hand began to curl itself around her metal nail file, the urge to cut the offending voice from her head becoming too much to ignore.  
  
Maybe one of these days I'll come in handy. Maybe I'll come to play.  
  
Involuntarily, her hand armed with the nail file thrust itself towards her throat filling her with a mix of relief and terror. The file grazed the side of her neck as the force of the attack sent her plunging backwards off the chair. She hit the floor with a soft thud and lay there breathing heavily as the gravity of what he had said pressed into her soul.  
  
After she felt that enough pure air had passed through her body to remove the felonious voice from her body, she crawled to her knees and wiped her bleeding throat. She glanced at her watch and could only laugh: she was late.  
  
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Author's note: Hi, all! I wrote this a while ago because I couldn't find a ton of Ginny/Severus fics that I liked. I swear that it will be one eventually, you must be (mildly) patient. And you know the rules: no reviews means my feelings get hurt means no more story for you! So review away! Thanks! 


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